1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to imaging display systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to an eyeglass-mount display system with a removable personalized module.
2. Related art
Convenient, high-quality and cost-effective remote imaging has become increasingly popular in the medical field during recent years. This is particularly true for surgical procedures, such as minimally invasive surgery, in which direct viewing of the surgical field by the surgeon is difficult. In minimally invasive surgery, a minimally invasive instrument, such as an endoscope or a laparoscope, is inserted into a patient through a body orifice or small incision. The minimally invasive instrument includes a video camera which enables the surgeon to view the surgical field. In a conventional surgical environment, the video camera transmits the video image via a cable to a conventional CRT video monitor. This arrangement is cumbersome in an operating room environment because equipment or surgical team members can obstruct the surgeon""s view of the video monitor. In addition, room ambient illumination or surgical lighting can reduce the CRT display contrast, and the surgeon""s viewing angle and distance from the CRT may not be favorable to quality vision and eye-hand coordination.
Head-mounted displays (HMDs) provide a solution to this problem. The image from the video camera of the minimally invasive instrument is transmitted to the HMD that the surgeon wears on his or her head. Thus, the HMD provides the surgeon with a direct, unobstructed view of the surgical field.
HMDs have become increasingly popular, but they are relatively expensive. HMDs used in the medical field require small but high resolution displays. In addition, many stereoscopic or binocular HMDs use dual display devices for two eye channels. One such medical stereoscopic HMD system having dual display devices is described in Heacock et al., xe2x80x9cViewing Ocular Tissues with a Stereoscopic Endoscope Coupled to a Head Mounted Display (HMD)xe2x80x9d (visited Feb. 17, 1998)  less than http://www.hitl washington.edu/publications/heacock/ greater than . Because these HMDs include two LCD displays, they are typically heavy, bulky, and expensive.
Due to the high cost of HMDs, several users may choose to share a single HMD. Because different users have different head dimensions and vision requirements, sharing a HMD requires each user make numerous adjustments to the HMD in order for the HMD to fit on an individual user""s head properly and to avoid eye fatigue. These adjustments include adjusting for the spacing between each user""s eyes, known as the inter-pupillary distance (IPD), as well as for the position of each user""s eyes relative to his or her nose and ears. Requiring users to make these adjustments every time they don the HMD is both time consuming and complex. In addition, if the user fails to adjust the HMD properly, not only will the HMD be uncomfortable to wear, but it can also result in eye strain or eye fatigue. Furthermore, HMDs can be especially awkward and uncomfortable for users wearing corrective eyeglasses because the HMD must be worn over the corrective eyeglasses. Allowing for eyeglass wearers adds size and weight to the HMD design with resulting discomfort.
Thus, there is a need for an easily adjustable eyeglass-mount display (EMD) that can be shared among multiple users. The EMD should minimize the number of adjustments that each user is required to make each time he or she dons the device. In addition, there is a need for an EMD with a small but high resolution display so as to preserve peripheral vision.
The following references are commonly assigned with the present application and are incorporated herein by reference:
a. U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,318 titled xe2x80x9cBiocular Viewing System with Intermediate Image Planes for an Electronic Display Devicexe2x80x9d issued to Raymond T. Hebert;
b. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/241,828, filed Feb. 1, 1999, entitled xe2x80x9cColor Superposition, Mixing, and Correction for a Video Display System,xe2x80x9d by Raymond T. Hebert;
c. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/305,092, filed May 3, 1999, entitled xe2x80x9cInfrared Audio/Video Interface for Head-Mounted Display,xe2x80x9d by Raymond T. Hebert et al.;
d. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09362,927, filed Jul. 27, 1999, entitled xe2x80x9cColor Superposition and Mixing of Light Beams for a Visual Displayxe2x80x9d by Raymond T. Hebert; and
e. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09373,807, filed Aug. 13, 1999, entitled xe2x80x9cCompact Biocular Viewing System for an Electronic Display,xe2x80x9d by Raymond T. Hebert.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, an eyeglass-mount display (EMD) apparatus includes a support frame, a display pod attached to the support frame, and a personalized module removably coupled to the frame. The frame has a cross bracket and a pair of spring-loaded ear pieces. Each ear piece is attached to an end of the cross bracket. The display pod is mounted on the cross bracket and includes an electronic image generator and optics for viewing a generated image. The display pod also includes an inter-pupillary distance adjustment and internal sighting mechanisms to aid proper image alignment for the user, thereby reducing long-term eyestrain.
The removable personalized module enables multiple users to share the same EMD frame and display pod without making numerous fitting adjustments upon swapping the display apparatus among each other. Some embodiments of the personalized module include a pair of corrective eye lenses that, if required, replace the user""s normal corrective spectacles. The personalized module is fitted to a particular user by moving one or more integral adjustment mechanisms. The fitting adjustments accommodate the user""s nose and ear heights in relation to his or her eyes. The adjustments also accommodate differences in eye level. An adjustable nose piece in the personalized module allows for horizontal and vertical adjustment of the display pod with respect to the user""s eyes. Cams on the side of the personalized module adjust ear piece height, a movement that also moves the display pod with respect to the user""s eyes. After donning the display apparatus, the user aligns the image generated in the display pod with his or her eyes by adjusting the nose piece and the ear pieces.
In accordance with the invention, each user first inserts his or her personalized module into the support frame and adjusts the nose piece and ear piece settings. The first user focuses the displayed image. Each user adjusts movable lenses in the display pod to accommodate his or her IPD and then makes fine fitting adjustments.
During use, when the EMD is swapped to a second user, the first user removes his or her personalized module, and the second user inserts their own preadjusted personalized module. The second user then adjusts the display pod for their IPD. But the second user need not adjust the fit or the focus.